When state legislators voted a couple of years ago to enact a package of prison and sentencing reforms, one of their main goals was to avert an overcrowding crisis. It's not working.

Several trends are converging to make that crisis more likely than ever, as a Plain Dealer report over the weekend makes clear.

The state's prison system — 28 institutions in all — was designed to hold about 38,500 inmates. If the current trend continues, the prisons can expect to house more than 51,600 inmates by June 30. This is cause for worry for several reasons.

If you have a mental image of prison life, it may not square with the dangerous reality of hallways filled with long lines of bunks. Overcrowding puts prison employees as well as inmates at higher risk of violence.

It also invites the possibility of a court ruling that would force the state to free hundreds of inmates. This is the reality that California is facing.

Reasons for the overcrowding include increases in the number of crimes being committed and in the number of convictions on heroin-related charges. According to The Plain Dealer, judges also are not comfortable with the option, allowed as part of the reforms, of using "risk reduction" sentencing, in which many nonviolent felons can be freed after serving 80 percent or more of their sentence.

The biggest growth in the prison population is coming from smaller counties. Fortunately, a solution to that aspect of the problem is clear: Several larger Ohio counties, including Stark, have made inroads on prison overcrowding in recent years by establishing drug, mental health or veterans courts that stress treatment and provide alternative sentencing options.

But that's not enough to counter other trends that are increasing the prison population. Other solutions? This is an election year; voters should expect to have that conversation with candidates running for election and re-election, from the governor and attorney general to state legislators.